DH had a massive heart attack 3 weeks ago - Trip to WDW in 3 weeks!

[SeaSpray]

Hi everyone!

My DH had a massive heart attack 3 weeks ago. Fortunately he got immediate medical help and he was in surgery in less than an hour after stepping foot into our doctor's office. Two stents, an ambulance ride, AND a med-evac helicopter ride to Boston later, he is expected to make a full recovery.

We saw the cardiologist last night. He's impressed with the improvement in DH's heart function thus far. He's more than fine with us taking our trip to WDW in 3 weeks. He told DH to "listen to his body" as far as how much walking he should do. We've been walking each day, about a mile so far, so he should be fine in that regards. Also, I will be in an ECV, and able to walk short distances, so if DH needs to take a break, I can let him sit in the chair and I can walk a bit.

All of this leads to my actual question. LOL The cardiologist's main warning in regards to our trip to WDW is that we need to be aware of the sodium in the food we'll be eating. At home we've been on a very heart-healthy diet, low in fat and sodium. Also, DH is diabetic, so we're careful with sugar.

Question: In the past, DH has not needed to ask to have any meals modified due to his diabetes because he always made good food choices. (We do only table service restaurants, which tend to offer lean beef, chicken, etc meals to choose from). The sodium thing is new; Can/Should we ask to speak to the chef in each restaurant, asking him to please not use any salt (or very little salt) while preparing DH's meals?? Is this something that can be accomodated in this way? I know that people with allergies will talk to the chefs, but will they want to speak to us regarding sodium??

The cardiologist stressed the restriction of sodium intake pretty seriously, and he also mentioned that he travels to WDW often with his own family and always has to speak to the chef because of his childrens' food allergies.

Any experiences or advice you can give is greatly appreciated!

 

[peemagg]

I would have it noted on your reservation that you need a low sodium diet. I would also request to speak with the chef once you get to the restaurant to explain this to them. I'm sure something can be done to help you there.

 

[SueM in MN]

Glad to hear he is getting better.
If you want to do something ahead of time, there are links in post #3 of the disABILITIES FAQs thread to contact WDW about dietary needs (allergies, plus other special dietary needs).

In addition (or instead of that), you could add it to your ADR. Even if it is on your ADR, you should still mention it to the server so that you can talk to the chef. Ommitting added salt should be pretty easy for the chef to do when preparing portions of food. The chef should also be able to advise you about menu choices to avoid (such as sauces that may have a lot of sodium or other foods that are preprepared).

 

[gamomof2]

No offense but this is a no brainer. Don't go.

3 months maybe but 3 weeks? Disney's not going anywhere why risk it?

 

[MSSANDRA]

I think I would rent him his own ECV. I had a stroke a few years ago and it took a lot longer than three weeks for my body to recover enough to walk very much. They related my stroke trama to the trama of a somewhat equal heart attack and mine was not a major stroke!! I was exausted for months!!

Food wise, there is a lot they can do. Request sauces, dressings on the side and use with caution. I would order meats, veggies etc cooked plain. Maybe carry your own "mrs dash" type stuff to add if you want. Lots of fresh fruits.

Be sure to check all rides with the dr. There may be a lot that he should not do.

Glad he is ok....prayers for his recovery.

 

[kaytieeldr]

To the best of my recollection, the Host/ess, and most likely your server, will ASK you about any food allergies or restrictions. You can, in addition to Sue's recommendation of advising when you make reservations, let each restaurant know at this time. Naturally, if anybody forgets to ask, or as a backup, tell your server before ordering.

And, yeah, get him his own ECV.

 

[SeaSpray]

Thanks so much for all of the replies!

We're staying club level at the Polynesian resort, so I'm going to send IPO an email asking them to note the sodium restriction on each of our ADRs. I also think we'll rent an ECV for DH, as well. We're not park commandos anyway, but I think knowing that we have the ECV for him will give us some peace of mind.

gamomof2: I know that you mean well, but we ARE taking all of the doctors' advice; ALL of them have said that there's NO reason for us to not go. The trip will be 6 1/2 weeks after his heart attack. Every nurse and different specialty doctor that we've seen in the last 3 weeks has told us that, barring any unforseen complication, DH will be fine for the trip.

The cardiologist that we saw yesterday happens to be a big fan of WDW and he thinks it's great that we have this trip planned. All he stressed was the fact that the foods could contain more sodium than we might be aware of.

And of course we asked the cardiologist about "rides". DH does not go on ANY roller coasters, he won't even go on Test Track. LOL And we specifically asked him about the non-G-force side of Mission: Space, as well as Star Tours, as these are rides that DH does enjoy. He said those rides are fine, as are DH's other favorite rides such as Pirates, etc. DH is not a thrill seeker. lol

They gave DH an ECG and an EKG yesterday, and he'll be having a stress test next week (before starting cardio rehab).

If any of DH's doctors said that there was ANY reason that DH shouldn't travel, of course we would not be going.

 

[MEK]

Did your husband have just stents or open heart (bypass surgery)? I am confused because you said two stents before you mentioned the ambulance ride. So I am not sure if he got stented and THEN had bypass surgery. I am assuming its the former. I am a cardiac surgery NP.

If your DH just had stents (as opposed to bypass surgery), I would not hesitate to go. I think the walking will be great for him. If he is taking his prescription meds and feels well, there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn't go.

If he had bypass surgery he can still go if he feels up to it. In this case an ECV would be helpful because open heart (bypass) surgery really tends to make people fatigued.

The chefs will definitely take your request for a low sodium diet. I would just watch the heat as it can be very fatiguing when you are recovering from an illness or surgery.

I think the worse thing that people can do after a heart attack or bypass surgery is to be come a "cardiac cripple". In other words, be afraid to do normal life activities which includes vacationing. As long as his arteries are opened or bypassed, he is good to go. I would be more worried about all the people with undetected / untreated coronary artery disease roaming around the parks.

Have an awesome trip!

 

[SeaSpray]

Did your husband have just stents or open heart (bypass surgery)? I am confused because you said two stents before you mentioned the ambulance ride. So I am not sure if he got stented and THEN had bypass surgery. I am assuming its the former. I am a cardiac surgery NP.

If your DH just had stents (as opposed to bypass surgery), I would not hesitate to go. I think the walking will be great for him. If he is taking his prescription meds and feels well, there is absolutely no reason why he shouldn't go.

If he had bypass surgery he can still go if he feels up to it. In this case an ECV would be helpful because open heart (bypass) surgery really tends to make people fatigued.

The chefs will definitely take your request for a low sodium diet. I would just watch the heat as it can be very fatiguing when you are recovering from an illness or surgery.

I think the worse thing that people can do after a heart attack or bypass surgery is to be come a "cardiac cripple". In other words, be afraid to do normal life activities which includes vacationing. As long as his arteries are opened or bypassed, he is good to go. I would be more worried about all the people with undetected / untreated coronary artery disease roaming around the parks.

Have an awesome trip!

Thanks for your reply! I didn't list what happened in chronological order. LOL Doctor's office EKG led to ambulance ride to hospital which led to surgery during which he had 2 stents inserted. The next morning he had complications (can't recall the name of what happened, pericarditis??, but they weren't positive that he didn't also have a tear which would've required open heart surgery, so THAT'S when he got the helicopter ride to Boston).

Fortunately he did not need any further surgery, and he has been recovering quite well from the stent surgery ever since. The cardiologist said that immediately following the stent surgery his heart out-put was at 20%; the ECH yesterday showed that he's now at 40%, which is more than what he expected to see only 3 weeks later. The cardiologist said that normal is about 60% (between 50-70%). He was quite pleased to see DH at 40% yesterday.

 

[dclfun]

My son is on a low-sodium diet due to renal failure. Unfortunately he is also on low phosphorus, low potassium, low/no calcium, and other restrictions which make it difficult for any chef to prepare something tasty. The best meal he has ever had at WDW was at O'hana, the worst was at Boma. At Boma he got a plate of cold plain pasta cooked without salt and a lump of cold no-salt butter on top that wouldn't even melt. Then he got plain gristly meat with lots of visible fat- it was disgusting- gosh, and all for $28.99!. Meanwhile I can't say enough good things about Chef T.J.!! So yes, we ask to speak with the chef each time, and also have emailed Brenda Bennett about QSD locations that could prepare things for him. Brenda was very helpful even though his choices were limited. Most of the chefs try really hard, but sometimes they really don't get it. Once at Cali Grill we were told that the chef HAD to use salt as he refused to serve something that wasn't "right" in his estimation as he was a chef and his product had to be the way *he* saw fit. Sigh. Oh...and I do know that the Club level CM's in the lounge should have a book with a list of ingredients in each item served there, but I don't recall if they had sodium counts. I think the main thing he'll need to do is avoid getting overheated and dehydrated. Remember that sweating means he'll need to replace some sodium there and the heat/sweating can make him weak. It's beastly hot right now in Orlando. It will be nice to be at the Poly to head back in the afternoon perhaps for a nap/swim and then to take advantage of evening EMH. It sounds like a relaxing trip to WDW is just what the Dr. ordered. BTW, are you still doing the transatlantic cruise in Sept?---Kathy

 

[SeaSpray]

My son is on a low-sodium diet due to renal failure. Unfortunately he is also on low phosphorus, low potassium, low/no calcium, and other restrictions which make it difficult for any chef to prepare something tasty. The best meal he has ever had at WDW was at O'hana, the worst was at Boma. At Boma he got a plate of cold plain pasta cooked without salt and a lump of cold no-salt butter on top that wouldn't even melt. Then he got plain gristly meat with lots of visible fat- it was disgusting- gosh, and all for $28.99!. Meanwhile I can't say enough good things about Chef T.J.!! So yes, we ask to speak with the chef each time, and also have emailed Brenda Bennett about QSD locations that could prepare things for him. Brenda was very helpful even though his choices were limited. Most of the chefs try really hard, but sometimes they really don't get it. Once at Cali Grill we were told that the chef HAD to use salt as he refused to serve something that wasn't "right" in his estimation as he was a chef and his product had to be the way *he* saw fit. Sigh. Oh...and I do know that the Club level CM's in the lounge should have a book with a list of ingredients in each item served there, but I don't recall if they had sodium counts. I think the main thing he'll need to do is avoid getting overheated and dehydrated. Remember that sweating means he'll need to replace some sodium there and the heat/sweating can make him weak. It's beastly hot right now in Orlando. It will be nice to be at the Poly to head back in the afternoon perhaps for a nap/swim and then to take advantage of evening EMH. It sounds like a relaxing trip to WDW is just what the Dr. ordered. BTW, are you still doing the transatlantic cruise in Sept?---Kathy

Hi Kathy:

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. Your poor son having to deal with lousy meals like he had at Boma, and then to have to deal with that chef at California Grill!!

I emailed the Polynesian IPO yesterday and they got right back to me, saying that they'd note each of our ADRs, and offered to order the scooter for DH for us. She said they use Walker Mobility which is the same company that I use to rent a scooter, so I'm going to let them order both of them for us. It'll be a little crowded with 2 scooters in the room, but it'll be worth it.

Unfortunately we won't be on the transatlantic is September. We've had other health problems in the family in the past year, and thought we wouldn't be able to take any trips this year, so I'm happy that we're at least going to WDW in July. I hope you have a great time on that cruise!